Since late 2009, the blogosphere has been atwitter with speculation about the true identities of Monarchy, the mysterious London-based electro duo, whose trippy, synth-pop songs Gold in the Fire, Black, the Colour of My Heart, The Phoenix Alive (along with the accompanying space age-y video for it), plus remixes of tracks they’ve done for Fyfe Dangerfield, Penguin Prison, and Elie Goulding, have caused a veritable sensation, with everyone from the UK Guardian to The New Musical Express, and other breathless-with-anticipation critics, labeling them the new “It” band or “The Next Big Thing.” Monarchy’s sure-to-be-hailed latest, It Must Be love, is being released today. Have a listen, then judge for, and discuss, amongst yourselves.

“Our sound is cold comfort. The music is spacious, an arctic landscape with a pulsing life running beneath it. We have a certain love of synth-pop from years gone past, but we’re absolutely modern.”—Monarchy

Ok. Great tunes. But, still, who are Monarchy? Rather than engage in generic gossip, guessing games, or futile Google searches for hidden clues in their sound and look (some of which may or may not lead to plausible results), The Excellent People, as is our Outstanding habit and tried and true tenet, much prefer to go directly to the source, letting the top secret band speak for themselves. To read the full interview, please click here. (Downloadable PDF).

All hail the new kings of synth-pop: The mysterious Monarchy. Image via Monarchy and Brilliantly Different.